Beartooth Highway to Billings

Thursday, July 19, 2012 Day 14

Hard to believe we have been on the road for 2 weeks!  We have seen so much beauty and had so much fun.  Went looking for wolves in the morning, talked to a man who helps the biologists by reporting what he sees.  He had seen one this morning returning to his den.  He told us about black and grey wolves and that there were 9 adults and 4 pups in the pack that he was watching.  He also told us about bison and how they tend to pair up with another calf of the same sex when they are babies and stay together for life.  Even if they change herds, they stay together.  He told us of an old crippled bull whose buddy protected him and kept him going.  Very sweet.  No luck with the wolves but we were happy with the wildlife we had seen.  Packed up our site and headed over the BearTooth Highway from Cooke City (just outside the park) to Red Lodge (where our first ATC hosts are from).  Fabulous scenery and quite a climb over the highway.  Highest point over 10,000 feet.

 Stopped to mail the post card to our hosts who live on Hauser street in Helena.  They were from RedLodge and the post office where we mailed it was also on Hauser Street. Weird.  Drove to the teeny town of Roberts and sat under a tree at the school and had our lunch of leftover sloppy joes and cherries. 

 Arrived in Billings, stopped and saw Jack’s Uncle Bob and Aunt Margaret and visited about an hour.  He is quite the adventurer, he told us about building roads in Yellowstone, guiding people in the Bighorns, getting caught in a storm in the Bighorns and having to dig down in the snow to stay warm to survive the nights, places he has discovered from when they were building the railroads that still has cans, utensils and evidence of people living there.  He has driven a snowmobile from Red Lodge to Cooke City over the Beartooth.

 A little different from his sister Shirley  and wife Margaret who prefer to stay home.  Found a motel room after many places were full at Motel 6 and took showers, yeah!  Went out for pizza and beer at Old Chicago and had great food and beverage. Went to Walmart and picked up a few groceries and ice.  Went back to work on jounal, blog and watch TV.  Showered in the morning and hit the road.